Imam Zaid Shakir was born in Berkeley, California. He accepted Islam in 1977 while serving in the United States Air Force. He obtained a BA with honors in International Relations at American University in Washington D.C. and later earned his MA in Political Science at Rutgers University. He studied Arabic in Egypt and then later pursued his studies in the traditional Islamic sciences in Syria and Morocco. He immersed himself in an intense study of Arabic, Islamic law, Quranic studies, and spirituality with some of the top Muslim scholars of our age.

Currently, Imam Zaid Shakir is a co-founder and Senior Faculty Member of Zaytuna College, and a prominent American Muslim scholar. He is a frequent speaker at local and national Muslim events and has emerged as one of the nation’s top Islamic scholars and a voice of conscience for American Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Imam Zaid has served as an advisor to many organizations, and influential leaders. Executive Officer of Muslim Alliance of North America. A signatory of The Paris Agreement on Climate Change, marking the largest number of nations ever signing an international agreement. Additionally, he is a Green Faith partner for the environment. In 2018, CNN listed Imam Zaid Shakir among twenty-five influential American Muslims.

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